Friday, July 17, 2009

My preschool daughter is at the perfect age to completely appreciate and enjoy the Ni Hao, Kai-lan animated series. We've watched quite a few episodes on Nick Jr. since the show first aired last year. The series features a five-year-old Chinese-American girl named Kai-lan and introduces preschoolers to Mandarin language and Chinese culture.

Much like the Dora series, Kai-lan goes on small adventures with her animal friends, learns valuable lessons along the way and encourages viewer interaction. Kai-lan depends upon her grandfather, Yeye, for guidance and support. Kailan's animal friends include: Rintoo, the tiger; Tolee, the koala; Hoho, the monkey; and Lulu, a pink rhino. Besides the bilingual aspect, the show also teaches kindness, compassion, and how to deal with feelings and emotions. One of the standard messages is "Try it! Because you might like it!" My daughter has amazingly picked up a number of phrases including "Ni Hao," the term for hello (also the show's title) and thank you, "xie xie." Kai-lan's large eyes and catchy songs appeal to preschoolers and the background graphics are bright, colorful and slightly abstract like a fun children's video game.

A new Kai-lan DVD released on July 14th called Ni Hao Kai-Lan: Kai-Lan's Great Trip to China. The DVD runs 96 minutes and includes three separate episodes: a double-length feature episode Kai-Lan's Trip to China, and two additional episodes Rain Or Shine and The Ant Playground. We had the chance to preview the DVD before it released, much to the delight of my daughter. She has watched it a few times and really, really likes the trip to China segment. Kai-lan's aunt, Gu Nai Nai, invites Kai-lan and her friends to China to learn more about the Chinese culture. During their visit, they meet a baby panda that likes to eat watermelon. (Preschoolers love baby pandas ... at least mine does because the baby panda was a huge hit here.) In the other segments Kai-lan has fun in the rain and helps build a swing for some ants. My only complaints: I'm not sure what to make of Mr. Sun's sun fuzzies. They are just strange. The special features section only includes one feature, a music video "We're Going to China." I do wish that the DVD included a term and pronunciation guide in the special features so that it could be used more effectively as a teaching tool. Overall though, we really enjoyed the DVD.

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Thanks to Nickelodeon and Bender/Helper impact for the review opportunity.(DVD Source: review copy provided by Bender/Helper Impact, Inc. View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.)

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comments:

Anonymous
said...

I can't enter (being from Cdn) but I just had to comment to say Great Review. I've never heard of this series but I'll have to look for it on DVD. My daughter is fascinated with China and although she's in grade school, she would probably like the rudimentary intro to the language.Thanks

I'm so impressed with this show. Having a rough and tumble little boy, I never thought this would catch his attention, but it did right from the beginning. And he has learned so many new things about China and even knows quite a few words.mommastaci33(at)yahoo(dot)com

My brother is in China right now and I love hearing about everything he's experiencing. Thanks for the great review - I hadn't heard of this dvd before. And thanks for the chance! alicedemskehansen at gmail.com

My 4 year old and 1 year old both love the show and it amazes me just how much of the language they pick up on. If I say "Ni Hao" to my one year old, he'll respond by saying "hi" back!nscandurro(at)cox(dot)net

I would love to win this for my daughter. She was adopted from China at age 4.5 and is now just turned 6. She LOVES this show and asks to watch it every day. She likes learning the Chinese words because she really doesn't remember most of them. Thanks for the opportunity!

I love that I can find an asian role model for my 3 yr old on tv and that the program teaches her to express emotions and the importance of empathy. It would be great to have this dvd for her bc she likes to repeat the Chinese words and I get so excited when she does. I speak Cantonese a bit, so I also learn mandarin along with her. Having a relatively cheap Asian doll available in regular stores[just found out they're available now and more are coming out in the fall] was the highlight of my night.

About Me

Brimful Curiosities is a mom blog/book blog featuring reviews and posts on children's books, music, educational products, toys and more. It's home to the weekly "Full to the Brim" Kid's Book Giveaway List. Occasionally it includes non-children related product and book reviews and personal postings.